Whole body & general Sports Injury Physiotherapy
Muscle Strain
- Sudden sharp pain during activity
- Pain on stretching or contracting the muscle
- Bruising in the following days
- Localised tenderness and swelling
Quick answer
A muscle strain is a tear of muscle fibres, usually from a sudden forceful contraction or overstretch. Grade 1 strains recover in two to three weeks, grade 2 in four to eight, and grade 3 tears may need surgery. Early controlled loading produces better results than prolonged rest.
Typical recovery
2–8 weeks depending on grade
A typical range, not a promise — how long it takes depends on how long it has been going on, and on what you do between appointments.
A strain — a "pull" — is a tear of muscle fibres. It typically happens during a rapid, forceful movement: sprinting, changing direction, lifting something heavier than expected, or a sudden stretch on a cold muscle.
Grading
- Grade 1: a few fibres torn. Pain but little strength loss. Two to three weeks.
- Grade 2: a partial tear. Noticeable weakness, pain on contraction, often bruising. Four to eight weeks.
- Grade 3: complete rupture. Marked weakness, a palpable gap, sometimes needing surgery.
Hamstrings, calf, quadriceps and groin are the most commonly affected.
The first few days
Protect the muscle, avoid stretching into pain, and keep gentle movement going within a comfortable range. Complete immobilisation is unhelpful — controlled early movement produces better-organised scar tissue and a stronger repair.
How physiotherapy helps
- Guiding the load progression: what to do this week and what to add next
- Restoring length gradually, without aggressive stretching in the early phase
- Progressive strengthening, especially eccentric work, which is what protects against re-injury
- Addressing why it happened — training load, strength imbalance, warm-up, fatigue
- Graded return to sprinting and sport with objective criteria
Why re-injury is so common
Most re-tears happen because people return when the pain stops. Pain settles well before the muscle regains its strength and capacity. The last few weeks of rehabilitation — the part that feels unnecessary — is the part that prevents the next one.
Medically reviewed by Nasir Mughees, BPT, MPT, Orthopaedic Physiotherapy · Last reviewed September 2026